The ex-husband of a former ITV soap actress was tragically killed in an accidental fire in his hotel room shortly after being released from prison, caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette.
Tony Lane-Roberts - who was once married to the former Crossroads actress Cindy Marshall-Day - was pronounced dead at the Clamart Hotel in Scunthorpe on April 24, 2019 after a fire was started with a plastic waste bin lit from a discarded cigarette.
The fire quickly spread to the his entire hotel room. At the time of his death, he had been released from prison just weeks earlier for breaching non-molestation orders against Ms Marshall-Day.
An inquest at Grimsby Town Hall heard that after the cigarette butt was thrown into the bin, an empty wine bottle was likely thrown on top of it, causing the bin to topple over.
A fire subsequently broke out and quickly spread, leaving the hotel room “glowing like a bonfire”, according to Grimsby Live.
In post-mortem evidence by pathologist Dr Lyle, the inquest heard that Mr Lane-Roberts, 66, died from the affects of fire, and was alive when the fire started.
Toxicology evidence provided by Dr Stephen Morley showed that he had almost four times the permitted drink-drive limit of alcohol in his system during the post-mortem examination.
This would have been likely to cause reduced motor function and an inability to stand and/or walk, the court heard.
His ex-wife, actress Cindy Marshall-Day told the inquest in a written statement that Mr Lane-Roberts was an “alcoholic” who was “always drunk” throughout their marriage.
At the time of his death, the former couple had agreed that she would pay off his bills and give him a lump sum of money.
She said: “I do not believe he had any intention to harm himself. Sadly throughout our marriage he was always drunk. He would sit and drink in his room most days. I have realised that it was not a choice, but a disease.”
In January 2018, he had pointed a gun at Miss Marshall-Day at the Walcot Hall estate near Scunthorpe where they lived. In September the same year, he was jailed for 32 weeks for breaching court orders to stay away from the actress, who played Tracey Booth in ITV’s Crossroads when it launched in 2001.
In a statement provided by the Manager of the Clamart Hotel, Tariq Maxx, said: “I was in my room and the fire alarm went off. Guests were leaving the building. I turned the alarm off believing it was a false alarm - I did this four times. I went upstairs to check if it was a real fire, still believing it was a false alarm. The corridor was filling with smoke and I rang 999.”
Mr Maxx said he had previously warned Mr Lane-Roberts several times against smoking inside his room, but that he used to spray air-freshener and place a rolled-up towel at the bottom of the door in a bid to conceal the smell.
According to CCTV footage obtained by Humberside Police, the fire alarm was first activated at 11.14pm and officers from Humberside Fire & Rescue arrived 14 minutes later, at 11.28pm - just three minutes after Mr Maxx called 999. Coroner Paul Smith told the inquest that the delay of 11 minutes from when the fire alarm first started to when emergency services were contacted could have been “critical”.
Dominic Purchen, Station Manager at Scunthorpe Fire Station, told the inquest that when firefighters accessed the room, they found Mr Lane-Roberts. He was subsequently carried outside where officers performed CPR on him for 20 minutes but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Coroner Paul Smith said: “Despite considerable efforts by officers from Humberside Fire & Rescue and paramedics, [Mr Lane-Roberts] was pronounced dead. The wine bottle may well have been responsible for the bin falling over. There is no evidence that the fire was deliberately set.
“Mr Lane-Roberts was severely inebriated. It is most likely that he was in a drunken stupor. A number of empty wine bottles were recovered from his room. I am satisfied that he passed out as a result of the alcohol and that may explain the way the cigarette was discarded.”
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